ARLINGTON, VA -- Today McCain-Palin 2008 announced the leadership of the McCain-Palin Farm & Ranch Team and released a statement on John McCain's vision for agriculture and rural prosperity. This distinguished team of elected officials and leaders in agriculture share a common goal with John McCain: to provide the leadership necessary to create prosperity in America's rural heartland.

"If you look at the issues that I think are important to agriculture and rural America -- energy, trade, taxes, judges that the next president is likely to appoint, and national security -- John McCain trumps his opponent on every issue," said Charlie Kruse, a fourth-generation farmer from Drexel, Missouri, and Co-Chair of the McCain-Palin Farm & Ranch Team National Steering Committee.

The continuing success of American agriculture and the health of America's rural heartland require a leader who understands that productivity and innovation are created by the effort, ingenuity and investment of individual Americans. As president, John McCain will address the key issues facing agriculture and rural America:

· Establishing a comprehensive energy strategy
· Controlling taxation and regulation
· Judicial restraint and preserving property rights
· Providing a sustainable, market-driven risk management system for farmers
· Promoting agricultural markets and reducing trade barriers
· Improving incentives to invest in technology and rural infrastructure
· Encouraging common-sense conservation and food safety measures
· Securing America's borders and implementing a fair and practical immigration policy
· Recognizing the role of agriculture in national security
· Strengthen America's economic competitiveness by eliminating wasteful government spending

The benefits of American leadership in agriculture extend well beyond our borders -- America's contribution to meeting the food, fiber, feed and energy needs of a growing world population through efficient production and technology innovation are critical to our national security.

More details on John McCain's statement on "Prosperity for Rural America" can be found on the McCain-Palin 2008 web site at rural.JohnMcCain.com.

MCCAIN-PALIN 2008 FARM & RANCH TEAM NATIONAL STEERING COMMITTEE*

Co-Chairs
Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture John Block, Illinois
U.S. Senator Sam Brownback, Kansas
U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss, Georgia
U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte, Virginia
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, South Carolina
U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, Iowa
Fourth Generation Missouri Farmer Charlie Kruse
Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture James Moseley, Indiana
U.S. Representative Adam Putnam, Florida

Steering Committee Members
North Dakota Farm Bureau Eric Aasmundstad
Former Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture and State Senator Don Ament
Louisiana Farm Bureau President Ronnie Anderson
Washington Farm Bureau President Steve Appel
Armstrong Farms Owner Jay Armstrong, Kansas
Missouri Governor Matt Blunt
U.S. Representative Roy Blunt, Missouri
U.S. Senator Kit Bond, Missouri
Kansas Farm Bureau President Steve Baccus
Georgia Agribusiness Council President Gary Black
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson
Kansas Livestock Association President Tracy Brunner
Oregon Farm Bureau President Barry Bushue
U.S. Senator Thad Cochran, Mississippi
U.S. Sugar Corp. Senior VP Robert Coker, Florida
Nevada Farm Bureau President James "Hank" Combs
U.S. Senator Mike Crapo, Idaho
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels
Pennsylvania Farmer Keith Eckel
U.S. Repr esentative Jo Ann Emerson, Missouri
Michigan State Representative Judy Emmons
U.S. Senator, John Ensign, Nevada
Florida Crystals Corp. Executive VP Pepe Fanjul, Jr.
U.S. Representative Jeff Flake, Arizona
Colorado Farm Bureau President Alan Foutz
U.S. Representative Virginia Foxx, North Carolina
U.S. Representative Sam Graves, Missouri
Harris Farms Chairman and CEO John C. Harris, California
Former Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture Jim Harsdorf
Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman
Former Delta Pine President & CEO W. Thomas Jagodinski, Tennessee
Former National Cattleman's Beef Association President Mike John, Missouri
U.S. Representative Tim Johnson, Illinois
Pacific Ethanol Chairman William L. Jones, California
Orange County Produce Founding Partner A.G. Kawamura, California
Iowa Farmer Lindsey Larson
Lasseter Tractor Company CEO Willard Lasseter, Georgia
U.S. Representative Tom Latham, Iowa
U.S. Repr esentative Bob Latta, Ohio
Lynch Livestock President and CEO Gary Lynch
Former National Cattlemen's Beef Association President Jan Lyons, Kansas
New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Patrick H. Lyons
Former New Hampshire Farm Bureau President Wayne Mann
California Farm Bureau President Doug Mosebar
U.S. Representative Marilyn Musgrave, Colorado
Western Growers Association President and CEO Thomas Nassif
Minnesota Farm Bureau President Kevin Paap
U.S. Representative Joe Pitts, Pennsylvania
National Steering Committee Co-Chair William Richards, Ohio
U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, Kansas
Arizona Farm Bureau Federation President Kevin Rogers
U.S. Representative Paul Ryan, Wisconsin
U.S. Representative Adrian Smith, Nebraska
Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Todd Staples
North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler 
South Dakota Farm Bureau President Scott VanderWal
CropLife America President and CEO Jay V room
Former Pennsylvania State Senator Noah Wegner
New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau President Michael White
Indiana Farmer Mike Yoder

*Members of the McCain-Palin Farm & Ranch National Steering Committee are endorsing as private citizens and are not acting in an official capacity for their respective organizations.

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